Yesterday was the annual Indie Book Fair organised by the MKLitFest team. Dozens of independent authors and publishers assembled in Middleton Hall in the CMK shopping centre. A good time was had by all! Lots of conversations, lots of books purchased and lots of connections made.
I did my usual and asked people the question above - both at my table and in a workshop with young people and their carers. Lots of fabulous answers. Below are the ideas I was given.
PRESS RELEASE - (Immediate - no embargo)
The new edition of ‘The Mayor’s Bear’ is published on 26 September 2026. It is available now for order from all good high street bookshops and online.
This new edition is published with three new short stories and teacher notes - with a focus on engaging young people in thinking how they might get involved in shaping their communities.
The core original story features a Town Mayor who loses something very precious to her town until a magimistical bear helps her to remember where she put it. But will Mayor Roxie have remembered in time to make her appearance at the annual festival of teddy bears?!
The new three short stories feature the same characters this time with a focus on:
All the stories are about introducing young people to how local government works. The book encourages youngsters (and through them, their parents and carers) to initiate and be part of efforts to make their places kinder, more creative, more ambitious and fun for all.
The book has been welcomed:
Callum Anderson, the MP for Buckingham and Bletchley says: “I am proud to support my constituent, Jon Harvey, in this wonderful project. The Mayor’s Bear and Other Stories of Hope celebrates kindness, inclusion and community spirit through engaging stories for young people. At a time when so much can divide us, helping young people believe they can make a positive difference in their local communities is something I think we can all agree on.”
Councillor Fran Davies, the current Mayor of Buckingham says: “Jon's storytelling reflects his passion for fairness, equality and inclusivity in all aspects of life”
Councillor Robina Ahmed, the current Deputy Mayor of Buckingham says: “Join Roxie and Strumbold on their adventures around Neitherneither End. A collection of stories encapsulating themes of community and hope. An engaging and enchanting read, skilfully composed and well illustrated”
Jon Harvey, author of the stories says:
“Our world is facing huge challenges. So huge that they often appear to be insurmountable. And this in turn depresses many and makes us feel weak and powerless. And many people have lost confidence in our political leaders to address these challenges successfully. For a lot of us, these are very bleak and gloomy times indeed.
One of the main reasons I have written this new edition is to encourage people - especially young people - to defy the gloom and the cynicism about politics and get involved!
All the stories show how a local councillor (Mayor Roxie) and her trusty, magimistical bear (Strumbold) are inspired to make a difference in their local town. As Roxie declares in the book - whilst she cannot change the world, she can help make one bit of it better!
Everything starts with 'one bit better'.
Every movement, every idea, every seed for transforming our world creatively and kindly starts with one person believing that their bit of the world can be made better.
And that is why I am thrilled to have produced a new edition of my book which goes further in thinking about how local places can address the big challenges we all face. The new stories focus even more on nurturing and achieving ambitions, making places more welcoming and building kinder communities.
If my book nudges just one youngster or maybe two to go on to become local councillors and make real differences in their communities, then I will be over the moon with joy”
I adore asking people - young and old - the question: If you were Town Mayor, what would you change about where you live?”
Contact:
Some ideas about how to order the book
Waterstones UK / Amazon UK / University of Buckingham Bookshop
The added short stories feature how Mayor Roxie, her council and her family & friends go about:
The new book also has added Teacher notes too - to encourage classroom discussions about the magic of local government...
And don't forget there is special, bonus and free short story on this blog too!
I am so pleased with the new style book - not only with the three extra stories - but the whole 'chunkiness' of the book feels so different!
It is now: all systems go!
The new edition is now available from good bookshops - high street and online.
For example I spotted this mention today: Waterstones
As always, I do encourage you to buy from your local bookshop and help keep local booksellers in business.
So I am going to be busy now - marketing the book - including the MK LitFest Indie Book Fair on 26 September as it happens - come and join me there. (Lots of other amazing books available too!)
As regular readers know, it was after a Mayoral visit to open a new school library a few years ago, that I came away with the idea to write a fun children’s story about a Town Mayor. And that was it. I just wanted to inform young people and through them, their parents/carers, about local councils and what they do.
From that initial idea and now having read the story to hundreds of children (and others), my book has become something more for me.
Local communities face many challenges including social isolation, housing growth without sufficient infrastructures, high street decay and so forth. Local councils (combined with many voluntary organisations) are doing their best to meet and mitigate these pressures on family and community life.
For all this to happen, democracy needs to be thriving. And it needs to thrive with local engagement, listening, humanity and hope.
The new edition of my book will be out soon in a chunkier format with added short stories about kindness, inclusion and ambition. And they are all about hope… Hope for a better world and hope for more people involved in local democracy and community action.
Local parish and town councils probably can’t change the world, but they can make their bits of it better.
Please be on the look out for
“The Mayor’s Bear, and Other Stories of Hope”
... coming soon to a library, bookshop and shelf near you!
#TheMayorsBearHopes / #TheMayorsBear / #LocalPolitics / #TownCouncils / #ParishCouncils / #LocalCouncils
Yesterday was the annual Indie Book Fair organised by the MKLitFest team. Dozens of independent authors and publishers assembled in Middleto...
